All You Need
by LadyKatie
Summary: Sequel to Moving On. With a history of fighting and bickering, Harry and Draco can’t seem to make their relationship last. But they can’t seem to stay apart either. A story about falling in love all over again. 7 years post- Moving On.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Sequel to Moving On. With a history of fighting and bickering, Harry and Draco can't seem to make their relationship last. But they can't seem to stay apart either. A story about falling in love all over again. Begins 7 years after the end of Moving On. Slash.**

**Author's Note: I never intended to do a sequel. I really didn't. I wrapped things up with the epilogue and I was done. And then I got bored. I started to wonder exactly how easy it would be for them to be together after the war was over and what they would want to do with their lives. This was the result. This is part 1 of 3.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all other characters belong to the goddess JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made and copyright infringement is not intended.**

All You Need  
By LadyKatie

Harry didn't know many muggle songs. It wasn't as if his aunt and uncle had bought CDs for him, or even had any interesting music in their own collection. So he wasn't extremely familiar with a lot of the popular stuff, past or present. Even so, once in a while one would stand out to him while in a muggle shop. He once heard a song that said "all you need is love" and thought that it made perfect sense. What else could one need? In retrospect, it was extremely naïve of him to think that love could make up for everything else that was wrong in the world.

But that was in those post-war days when love meant everything. The war had been won by the power of love. His mother's love for him, his love for his friends and Voldemort's inability to understand love all contributed to the end. And then Harry was in love. Truly, completely in love. And it hadn't come without sacrifice. Coming out to the entire wizarding world wasn't something he would have chosen, but he survived. And so had Draco. And what's more, they had survived the Death Eater Rebellion, led by Philip Laurent. They were battered and bruised, but alive and ready to spend the rest of their lives together in blissful love.

If there was one thing that Harry had learned in his life it was that few good things truly last. He never thought he would have to apply that principle to his relationship with Draco. It turned out there was a reason they had been mortal enemies when they were in school together.

After the Rebellion was defeated, Harry went to Auror training with Ron, just as they planned. Harry and Draco had both felt significantly demoralized by the homophobia they experienced in the wizarding world and were determined to do something about it. Draco didn't have any current career goals, nor did he actually _need_ to get a job with the Malfoy fortune in his Gringott's vault, so he made it his mission to reach out to other witches and wizards who were struggling with sexuality and petitioned the Ministry for equal rights. Harry helped out, but it was largely by Draco's political knowledge and organization that the movement got underway.

If Harry were completely honest with himself, he let their jobs come between them. Draco accused him of being jealous of the time he spent with the Gay and Lesbian Wizarding Association, or the G.L.W.A. as it was called. And although he denied it vehemently, Harry knew Draco was right. Perhaps the years of fame and constant attention had gotten to him after all. Why couldn't he just be happy for Draco's success? Instead it was all too easy to fall into the pattern of bickering and sniping that had created their schoolboy rivalry. They eventually became known among family and friends for their tempers and it took its toll on everyone.

The true victim in their relationship problems was Ron. He and Draco had gotten to actually like each other during their time patrolling Diagon Alley together and a very odd, and sometimes hostile, friendship had been formed. Ron was put in the middle of every argument the couple had during the last few months together. After Draco moved out, he and Harry were both forbidden from mentioning each other in Ron's presence, as he was determined to not appear to be taking sides.

It was the week after the four year anniversary of the defeat of Voldemort and the most talked about celebrity couple broke up. The wizarding papers had a field day. Harry couldn't go anywhere without reporters following him and then the love letters started pouring in. Harry continued living in Grimmauld Place with Kreacher, while Draco decided to get his own flat in Diagon Alley. That was almost four years ago.

Unfortunately for them, and everyone around them, they still were in constant contact due to their friends, Teddy and the G.L.W.A. Harry wasn't going to let his and Draco's problems stop him from being involved in something he felt so strongly about and often Draco would be at Andromeda's home when he went to get Teddy. They didn't say much unless it was absolutely necessary, but they were always bumping into each other someplace.

Today was one of those days. Harry entered Andromeda's house to find that she was gone and only Draco was home with Teddy. They were sitting at the kitchen table, but both looked up when Harry entered.

"She had to do some shopping," Draco explained.

Harry nodded silently and sat down next to Teddy. The boy, now nearly eight years old, was drawing a picture with color-changing crayons.

"Harry, guess what I did today!"

"What?"

"We went flying!"

At Harry's sharp look Draco rolled his eyes.

"We didn't go very high, I promise."

"Like last time?"

"Last time was an accident and no one got any permanent injuries. When I was his age I flew all the time and I survived."

"Unfortunately," Harry muttered under his breath. Teddy didn't seem to notice, but Draco certainly did.

"Do you have him now? I need to get out of here."

"Hot date?"

Draco scowled. "Yes. And no, it's no one you know."

"Oh, I bet I could make a good guess."

Draco's hands went to his hips. "I don't ask you about your dates. Oh, wait, you don't have any."

"I date," said Harry, taking offense.

"What you do is not dating. It's humping muggles in a trashy club."

"Harry?" Teddy said suddenly, looking up from his parchment. "What's 'humping?'"

He let out a frustrated sigh. "That's something Draco wasn't supposed to say."

Draco looked at Teddy. "I'm sorry, mate. That's not a nice word. Don't tell your grandma about it or I might get in trouble."

Teddy grinned. "No problem. Just like when you said that 'fuck' was a naughty word. I didn't tell Gram 'bout that either!"

Harry narrowed his eyes on Draco, excused them from Teddy and dragged his ex toward the door.

"What did I tell you about your language around Teddy?"

"As if you're any better!"

"Nevermind. Just watch your mouth."

"Yes, master," Draco responded sarcastically. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Were you always this annoying?"

"If you were always this stupid."

Harry walked away without another word and joined Teddy in the kitchen once more. The house was quiet for several minutes with Teddy focusing entirely too hard on his picture of a hippogriff. He actually was quite a good little artist. Harry was amazed by the accuracies of the drawing, even if the colors were a bit exaggerated. With Teddy, more color was always better. His favorite color currently was green, although Harry knew it would change in another day or two and it would be easy to spot. Whenever his favorite color changed, so did his hair color.

"Do you like Draco?" he asked suddenly, keeping his eyes on his paper.

"Er, did he tell you to ask me?"

"No." He shook his head and looked up with big questioning, green eyes. "Gram said so."

"She did?"

"I told her that I didn't think you liked each other and she said that sometimes when people love each other a lot then they fight because they don't know what else to do."

"Oh. Well I'll have to talk to your grandma about that. Uh, me and Draco, sometimes we don't get along."

"But you used to love him. I remember when he lived at Grimmauld Place with you!"

"Sometimes people just don't get along well enough to live together. That's what happened to us. But we both love you."

"I really had fun with Draco today."

Harry couldn't resist asking, "How high did he really let you fly?"

Harry truly loved spending evenings with Teddy, but as it neared dinner time his mind wandered to Draco. It did that a lot when he knew Draco was on a date. Harry didn't know how Draco knew about the muggle clubs, but it wasn't as if it was a secret among their friends. Ginny often went with him and Ron and Hermione even went a few times. To Draco, the club was just a little too primitive. He dragged all his dates to the most expensive restaurants in the country. But the kinds of things they had done together and the dates they had were things of the past. There were days when Harry really missed it, but he concentrated on filling the void with whoever he could find.

Occasionally Ginny fit that description. She was still living in the Burrow, but shortly after leaving school, she began a very promising career with the Holyhead Harpies and did a lot of traveling. She was busy with quidditch and didn't want a relationship, which was really perfect for Harry. He had given up on relationships. Turning to Ginny for comfort and company had just seemed natural. By sheer bad luck, Draco had found out about it the first time it happened. They had been planning a big rally for the G.L.W.A. and Draco brought over the outline of what Harry's speech was supposed to cover only to find Harry and Ginny both extremely hung over and only partially clothed. It was only a couple weeks after Draco moved out and although Harry technically did nothing wrong, he felt a pang of guilt over the pain he knew he had caused. The guilt faded quickly when Draco made sure he was caught by reporters snogging a very famous quidditch player a few days later. In the nearly four years since that, they had never learned to be friends.

Harry stayed for supper with Teddy and Andromeda and then helped put Teddy to bed. He didn't waste any time once the boy was asleep.

"You told Teddy that I love Draco."

"He told me you two fight all the time. It's not good for him to see that. And frankly it's getting on my nerves as well. Narcissa purposely avoids any situation where the two of you will be in the same room. It's gotten worse recently and I'm not sure why."

"I thought we were dealing with things quite nicely. How should one act toward an ex-boyfriend?"

"Not the way you are. You both act bitter and resentful, like you got your hearts broken. It's not like he cheated on you. Don't think I don't notice how you each try to outdo the other in everything. It's a bit childish, dear."

"That doesn't mean that I love him, so Teddy doesn't need to hear that."

"I think you do love him. In some way, if not _in love._ Somehow you'll find your way back to each other."

"You know I consider you to be a very wise woman." She smiled. "But in this case you're out of your mind. All he's finding his way back to is into the trousers of that French liaison to the Ministry."

"You sound jealous, dear."

"Not jealous, annoyed. They're only dating because he wants Marquardt's influence."

"I met him. He seems nice."

"You met him?" Harry sounded somewhat disgusted.

"They seem to get on well. Not like you and he did in those early days, but well enough to make a relationship."

"I'm sure that's wonderful for them. Jacques Marquardt headed up the gay rights movement in wizarding France for a while. Draco wants him to help with his own project. He talked about that back when we were still together. That's how long he's been plotting this. He's using his cute little arse to get the political connections he needs."

"I think it's more. Does that bother you?"

"Why would it? If he wants to whore himself out then it's not my business. We haven't been together for ages. I've seen him date a lot of guys."

"Then maybe you should work on finding someone for yourself. It has to get lonely."

"I keep busy."

"With strangers in clubs?"

Harry scowled, annoyed. "Does everyone know about that?"

"Draco may have mentioned it."

"He talks about me?"

"No more than you talk about him. And less since he started seeing Jacques."

He felt another bubble of irritation at the mention of the man's name. Andromeda caught it when he rolled his eyes.

"You better get used to hearing his name. Draco is having him speak at the benefit next week."

"I noticed. That's all the committee is talking about. You'd think the guy cured Dragon Pox, he's so popular."

"It's the hair," she smirked. She knew very well that Marquardt's perfect locks was another source of irritation for Harry, who often said that Draco had to pick the only person in London who spends more time in front of the mirror than he did.

"Yeah, okay, I get it. I'll let it go."

"Do you have a date for the benefit?"

"I'm going alone. I'll do the whole 'eligible bachelor' thing and give _Witch Weekly_ something to talk about. Besides, the only person I have to bring would be Ginny and I always feel like a bit of a fraud when I take a girl to a gay thing."

"There's nothing wrong with liking both women and men."

"I know. It just feels like I'm still hiding something by bringing her, especially since she's not actually my girlfriend. It makes me less gay and then the papers start in on my sexual confusion and then I have to deal with Draco's attitude about it."

"Draco again? He can't stay out of our conversation. You said yourself you and Draco haven't been together in years. What does it matter what he says about it?"

"I still work with him at the G.L.W.A. We have a lot of the same friends, Ron and Hermione especially. And I see him here. It's not like his snide remarks are easy to ignore."

"Narcissa wanted you to come to dinner with Teddy and me this Sunday, by the way."

"See? I can't really escape him if his mum keeps having me over."

"Maybe you're just not meant to escape him."

That thought haunted Harry. What if he was destined to be stuck with his ex for the rest of his life? Everywhere he went, it seemed, some reminder of Draco was there. Ginny said that it was the reason why he always came to her. She was the farthest thing away from Draco. He had to admit that she was probably right. Their break up was tough for everyone around them and there was still a sense, among their families, even after four years, that it wasn't going to last. Somehow they would end up together again. Harry didn't let himself think about that. It was too painful. For a time he did hope that, but it got ugly fast. It was the disadvantage of being lovers with someone who you spent seven years of your life fighting with. Each person knew exactly how to make the other feel absolutely miserable.

And the papers loved the feud. There had been rumors of an actual duel taking place after Harry walked in on Draco with another man. None of it happened of course. Draco didn't cheat, but to the papers, he would never completely step out from under the dark shadow of Lucius Malfoy. It was too easy to make him look like the bad guy.

Despite this, Draco had done a fine job making a name for himself among the upper class and the Ministry officials and Harry was truly proud of him. People often approached him with possibilities of working in the Ministry, but Draco turned them all down. He was focused on the G.L.W.A. and he wasn't about to give it up to work for a Ministry that didn't treat him as an equal citizen.

Ron and Hermione had moved out of the Burrow shortly after Ron entered Auror training. Their flat was just down the street from Draco's and near George's place. The day of the benefit, Harry agreed to meet Ron and Hermione at their place and arrive together. He didn't count on Draco being there. Merlin, was he everywhere?

"I'm just dropping off the cufflinks that Ron is borrowing. I trust you have your speech prepared."

"Yes, mother."

Draco glared.

"Where's the boyfriend?"

"If you're asking about Jacques, I'm on my way to pick him up right now."

"Good. I'd hate to have him miss it."

Draco took two steps forward, well into Harry's personal space. The closeness and the height difference were meant to be intimidating, but Harry knew him too well for that. "You're going to be civil to him. For just one night we can show the country that we can behave as adults. This is about all of us coming together to serve a greater cause. Egos need to be set aside."

Ron muttered something unintelligible and left the room. He wasn't getting in the middle.

"You're telling me this? If anyone needs his ego set aside it's you."

"Boys," Hermione interrupted. "Give it up. Everyone is acting adult and will have modest-sized egos this evening. You need to go so you'll be there when everyone starts showing up, Draco."

He nodded and she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good luck. I know how hard you've worked for this."

After he was gone Harry threw himself down on their sofa. "Do you have to placate him like that?"

"Do you have to pick fights like that? Now stop thinking about Draco and complement my dress."

He hadn't even noticed until then. It was royal blue and tight-fitting.

"You look good."

"Thank you. Ron didn't even notice that it is new."

"Draco helped you pick it out, didn't he?"

She seemed startled and he knew right away he was correct. "How do you know?"

"He always said blue was your best color and the style is definitely what he would pick. He did good; you look amazing."

"You don't sound too thrilled."

"Isn't it a little weird to get excited about my best friend and ex-boyfriend going shopping together? Why can't you and Ron at least hate him?"

She laughed. "After everything the four of us went through and how much it took to put aside our differences to accept him you think we can just hate him because the two of you were too stubborn to stay together?"

"No. You're right. And the dress really is beautiful."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You will be a grown up tonight?"

Harry agreed, although there was still a feeling of uneasiness that he couldn't quite name. He didn't want to fight with Draco, but he didn't really want to just accept things either. He didn't want to play nice with the new boyfriend. And he really, really didn't want to see the two of them together. Andromeda was right, things had gotten worse lately and as far as Harry could tell, it started right around the time that Draco started seeing Marquardt.

Harry went to the benefit, entering just behind Ron and Hermione. Quite a fuss was made when they attended any large social event since they were generally regarded as war heroes. But it was nothing compared to the chaos that erupted when the great Harry Potter made his entrance. There were several reporters outside the benefit venue and Harry did his best to put on a smiling face and answer their questions.

"Harry you don't have a date tonight?"

"Still looking for the right person, I guess." He actually winked at the pretty young woman who asked. Merlin, he was reminding himself of Lockhart. This had to stop.

"Is Draco Malfoy seeing Jacques Marquardt?"

"You'd have to ask Draco about his own relationships, I'm afraid. I can only say that whoever he's seeing, I wish him the best." _Somebody kill me now._

"You were seen out to lunch with Neville Longbottom. Anything going on there?"

"Leave him alone, we're just old school friends."

It was this part of his fame that he hated the most. Every person he came in contact with was a suspect of being the dirty secret of his sex life.

"What do you hope to accomplish here tonight?"

"Well, this night was put together to raise money and awareness for equal rights. The Ministry will be taking a vote on same-sex marriage again this year and we want to make sure it passes. We've made some progress in the past months and we really want to see this happen."

"Delores Umbridge is heading up the opposition. She recently said the G.L.W.A. is attempting to undermine the values that are necessary to the protection of our world. If this law passes then we would be no different from the muggles."

Harry fought to not roll his eyes in annoyance at the mention of Umbridge. She was another person who wouldn't go away. She still managed to keep her job at the Ministry and had even led a small campaign to keep him from getting his Auror certification. She claimed that he was mentally unstable and wanted him to go through St. Mungo's psychotherapy program to ensure that he didn't have lasting emotional damage from all that he'd gone through. She wasn't taken seriously and he made sure to smile and wave his Auror badge at her after he had passed the training program.

Now she was the leader of the League of Traditional Values. They were formed shortly after the G.L.W.A. and they had been responsible for the gay marriage law being voted down the first two times. Harry had heard that there were similar organizations in the muggle world and wasn't surprised that she would be the one to lead it. The muggles had begun legalizing same sex marriage already and Harry felt a sense of pride that the wizarding world wasn't far behind.

"Any similarities between us and the muggle government are not going to hurt our world. It was fear of muggles and archaic beliefs that were responsible for the last two wars we fought. It sounds to me like Umbridge wants us to go a third round. Look at her policies and compare them to Voldemort's. We have no room for that kind of Death Eater mentality in our government."

Harry excused himself after that. He wasn't going to get drawn into another debate about Delores Umbridge and he hated talking policy with reporters. Truthfully, what he had told them was taken almost word-for-word from what Draco had told him to say once upon a time. He learned a lot about managing his fame from Draco and those lessons stuck with him.

As he entered the hall, everyone was just beginning to take their seats at the round tables. He found his place near Ron and Hermione. Thankfully Draco had arranged to be seated at a separate table. Unfortunately, Harry's duty that night was to give a short greeting and introduce Marquardt. It was more of Draco's plan to show that they got along well. The public didn't need to know that they still drove their families crazy with their fighting.

After giving a brief speech and announcing Marquardt, Harry quickly returned to his seat. If he was going to watch this guy, he was going to do it with a drink in his hand. He had to admit that Marquardt knew what he was talking about. Before becoming the ambassador to the British Ministry, he had made a name for himself in his own country and was a major part of the campaign that eventually obtained equal marriage rights there. His speech covered parts of the campaign in France and mostly talked about the positive outcomes for their country.

Harry found himself hardly listening to the speech as his eyes wandered to Draco. He was following Marquardt's speech attentively and looked to have it memorized. Something about it saddened Harry. Draco had truly moved on from him and he hadn't even realized that it bothered him. Draco must have felt Harry's eyes on him and he looked over scowling. The expression softened a moment later when he registered the lack of hostility in Harry's features. Harry gave him a small smile and turned his attention back on the speaker.

They ate dinner and socialized. Hermione pointed out members of the Ministry that Harry wasn't as familiar with so that he could speak to them. The great thing about being Harry Potter was that he wasn't necessarily expected to say a whole lot. Usually just being there was good enough. Hermione would tell him something clever to say to impress a specific person and said person would control the conversation from there. When he felt quite sure that he couldn't get any more bored he found a quiet corner of the room where he could observe the dance floor with a glass of fire whiskey.

Draco appeared by his side a while later.

"Would you like to dance?"

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Yes, but only because I know you can't dance properly to save your life and I don't feel like having my feet stomped on."

Harry nodded and looked back out at the dance floor. Draco continued to watch him curiously.

"You looked so sad tonight."

Harry shrugged and changed the subject. "Marquardt did a good job on the speech. I think we have a chance of getting this thing passed this time."

"Yes. Although Umbridge's people have been getting increasingly more vicious."

"I saw the statement she gave the paper today."

Draco blushed and looked away quickly. Indeed, the statement was more than just her group's position on the subject. It had attacked Draco personally, even going so far as to mention his father in Azkaban.

"Ignore her. She's always been a stupid cow and always will be."

"Of course. It's not as if I haven't had worse things printed by my name."

"So you and Marquardt?"

"Do you have to ask questions you already know the answer to?"

"Just making conversation. Thought I'd give that whole 'acting civil' thing a try."

"Yes, Jacques and I are together. Why didn't you bring anyone?"

Harry shrugged. "No one to bring."

"Well you should try actually dating someone."

"I have." Harry glanced over at Draco. "You were a hard act to follow."

Draco let that comment go. "What about Ginny?"

"You know it's not like that with me and her."

"Could have fooled me."

"It takes more than sexual attraction."

"True. We had more than that and we still couldn't…"

"Let's not do this tonight. You did a good job putting this together. Let's just enjoy it."

Draco reached out and put his arms around Harry. Harry couldn't remember them embracing since they broke up and he nearly gasped at the familiar feeling that he hadn't known he missed so much.

"Thank you for being grown up tonight," Draco whispered.

Then he kissed him on the cheek. It was a friendly gesture, nothing remotely sexual in it, yet Harry had the nearly irresistible urge to grab him and never let go. After all this time, he was not over Draco Malfoy. This realization shocked him and he stood completely still in his little corner and watched Draco head back across the room. He and Jacques began dancing and Harry felt the little knot of jealousy forming in his stomach. He went home early that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Grimmauld Place was lonely these days. Kreacher had died the previous year. And even though he hadn't provided much conversation and was usually more of an irritation than anything, Harry missed him. It had been comforting to know that there was another living thing in the big house with him.

However, it didn't take Harry long to begin redecorating. There had been some minor changes made since the war. When Draco lived there he had brought some of his own preferred style, but much of the Black family remained. Harry didn't mind that much. It had made Kreacher happy to have reminders of Regulus and Mrs. Black. Once Kreacher was gone Harry decided that it all had to go. Aside from Draco's family and the memories of Sirius, Harry had no connection to the Blacks. He gave Narcissa and Andromeda all the family heirlooms to be dealt with however they saw fit. Personal possessions belonging to Sirius and Regulus were either tossed out or put into a trunk to go to the attic. Their bedrooms were completely redecorated. After all, this was Harry's home now, and if he was going to stay there it had to feel like his.

The hardest part of the renovations had been removing Mrs. Black, but it finally happened. George had been the one to finally figure out the tricky spell work needed to displace her. She was sent to the attic with several silencing spells around her.

With Hermione's help he had gone a long way to making the old house feel happier and less dreary. But that hadn't stopped it from being empty. So he was pleasantly surprised to walk inside to find Ginny's cloak hanging up in the foyer. He found her on the sofa in the sitting room with a magazine.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you. I didn't figure you would stay at the benefit the whole evening."

"And what if I'd brought someone home?"

She raised an eyebrow, unconcerned. "Then we all could have had a really good time."

He slumped down next to her, still feeling rather miserable about Draco.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Boy problems."

"Nothing."

"Draco."

He winced and she knew she was right.

"He hugged me. And kissed my cheek."

"And you wanted more." He nodded. "What is it with you two lately? Ever since he started seeing the French hottie you've been out of sorts."

Harry muttered something under his breath, but Ginny managed to make out "fucking Marquardt." She grinned.

"He is quite handsome, isn't he?" She had to hold back a giggle at the death glare Harry was giving her. "He's nearly perfect. Those big chocolate brown eyes, the perfect bouncy hair."

"Bouncy hair?"

"Haven't you noticed how his hair bounces every time he moves his head? Not like yours, which is just a mess."

"Right, got it. Draco likes men with bouncy hair."

"Actually I think it's more floppy than bouncy. But it's not just the hair. The man is amazing. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I try not to."

But he couldn't hide the faint blush that spread across his cheeks. Ginny was always quick to spot those kinds of things.

"You have though. There's something you're not telling me."

Harry rolled his eyes. It wasn't as if he didn't already tell her almost everything, so what was the harm?

"He's hot, which is a fact that I noticed years ago. When Marquardt first made a name for himself in France he made the papers here too. I actually pointed him out to Draco. We… talked about him."

"And by 'talked about him'…"

"The talking sort of led to the discussion of a fantasy and that let to sex. On the floor." Harry looked around. "Actually, it was in this room."

"No kidding?" Ginny's jaw was on the floor. They had a habit of being very open with each other, but it was rare that Harry ever discussed his sex life with Draco. "Was there any role play involved?"

"No, nothing like that. I mean, we'd done role playing before, but no."

"Still, that's pretty… wow. I often use celebrities in my fantasies too."

"I don't. With the exception of that one time."

"And now Draco's shagging him. No wonder you hate him."

"Yeah."

"Do you think Draco is with him just to get to you?"

"No. He can be a dick, but even he isn't that bad. He got close to Jacques to get his social and political connections. Then they got even closer. I'm sure it has nothing to do with me or that one fantasy. Draco's much too sensible for that anyway. Besides, that was ages ago. A couple years before we broke up I think."

"Do you still think about it when you see them together?"

"No. When they first starting seeing each other… We were down at the office the day I met him. Draco gave me this look and I could tell that he was thinking about it. But other than that, no."

"Wow. And now you want Draco back from him?"

"I… yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I don't know what to tell you. There's a reason you broke up."

"But was it a good enough reason?"

"I witnessed some of the screaming matches, remember? Nobody can live like that."

"But if he hadn't walked in on you and me… I think we would have made up."

"And two weeks later you'd be back to hating each other. Sometimes love's not enough."

"But if love isn't, and sexual attraction isn't, then what is enough?"

"If I knew I'd have a boyfriend by now."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, asking, but he pulled away. She frowned, but accepted the rejection. Their relationship was actually very simple. The sex was just sex and if there was no sex then they could still be friends. No strings attached. He obviously wasn't in the mood to do anything aside from thinking about Draco.

She sighed and repositioned herself on the sofa so that she was facing him instead of sitting beside him.

"So how are you going to get him back?"

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be thick. You need a plan to get Draco back if this is going to have any sort of happy ending."

"It didn't work before. Just because I haven't dealt with our break up doesn't mean that we should get back together."

"Right. So you're just going to keep fucking other people, me included, while constantly thinking of Draco."

"I do not think of Draco when we're fucking."

"You do actually. And it's okay that you'd rather be with him. You and I weren't supposed to be together."

"We work better as friends," Harry nodded.

"I'm glad we agree. Now about Draco…" She smoothed the hair back from his forehead in a comforting, familiar gesture. "You should tell him."

"I thought you said that love isn't enough and we fought too much."

She shrugged and offered a small smile. "Sometimes love isn't enough. And you did fight too much. But you've been apart for a while. Maybe it will help you appreciate each other all the more. That and you've both slept with enough people to know that you're not missing out on anything by being tied down to each other."

"Do you think that was the problem? We just were too young and curious?"

"Who knows? The way you're both going through partners, I'd say you were working on ruling out all other possibilities."

They were silent for a few moments while Harry considered this. Sex had never been as great as it was with Draco. Sure, he'd learned a few new techniques, a couple different positions, but he'd never felt so completely happy and at peace as he had with Draco.

"Do you think he would take me back?"

"Probably not if you just ask him. I think you're going to have to woo him. Seduce him."

Right. Now how in Merlin's name did he do that?

**

Unfortunately, Harry's plan hit a brick wall very early in the planning stages. He had found out that Marquardt was going to be returning to France the following month and saw that as his big opportunity to get close to Draco again. So when Narcissa Malfoy invited him over for tea one afternoon he actually went. She had tried to stay friendly with him since the break up, but he avoided the Manor in his effort to avoid Draco. Now that he didn't mind bumping into Draco he also figured it couldn't hurt to have Narcissa on his side.

"It has been far too long since you've been here."

"Well, you know I'm busy."

"I also know that you don't want to run into Draco here."

"Am I that obvious?" Harry laughed.

"I miss you coming around. You will always be like a second son to me."

"Well, your real son doesn't share the affection for me."

"Draco is complicated." She was making excuses for him again, just as she always did since the break up. "He was trying to find himself after the war. He was looking for his place in the world, the same as everyone else. You knew your place already."

"It wasn't just me being in Auror training."

"No, but he cares about you, even if you cannot be together."

He was curious why she was steering the conversation toward his and Draco's relationship, a topic generally avoided by almost everyone else. He decided to ask a strategic question. "What do you think of Marquardt?"

Narcissa did her best to maintain her polite smile, but it had slipped some. Harry successfully concealed his own smirk. She was on his side.

"Jacques is nice enough. He is polite and smart. Draco seems to get on well with him." She paused, stirring more sugar into her tea. "Actually they are moving rather quickly. A bit faster than I would like."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that I think Draco is planning on going to France with him."

Harry felt his heart stop. He hadn't counted on this.

"To live? Permanently?"

She nodded.

"That's absurd. He wouldn't leave. This is his home. What about the G.L.W.A.? That's his baby; he couldn't just give it up."

"But you expect the new law to pass soon."

"That's not all the G.L.W.A. is for though. The work isn't going to be over just because the gay marriage law passes. It's about having a support system and equal treatment… and well, Draco wouldn't just leave it."

"He might. He has hinted. Jacques leaves in two weeks and the vote is the week after. If it goes through, I believe Draco may go."

"He can't," Harry said quietly, still in shock.

"You don't want him to go either."

He looked back up at her. He loved Narcissa like a mother. For a long time he believed that she would be his mother-in-law one day. After four years he realized that he still wanted that and now Draco might make that impossible. Narcissa hadn't just invited him over to be friendly; a part of her wanted Harry to stop Draco leaving. She wouldn't say it though. She wouldn't want to appear to be going against Draco in any way. But this was good. It meant that Harry had an ally.

They talked for a while, but as soon as he could politely leave the tea Harry went to Diagon Alley and into the G.L.W.A. office. The secretary at the front desk, Leah, greeted him, but he continued, afraid of any distractions. He didn't even knock at Draco's office door.

"What the—Harry! Could you possibly be any more rude? I was just about to make an important floo call to the Ministry."

"Are you going to France?"

"What?"

"I just had tea with your mother."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Does she have you spying on me now?"

"She expressed her concern. I told her you wouldn't leave the organization that you built from the ground up, that has accomplished so much. You wouldn't throw that all away for some bloke."

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair now. "If you are so confident of this then why would you barge in here to harass me about it?"

"I want to know the truth. You're not leaving."

But Draco's eyes flickered down to his paperwork and Harry knew that Narcissa had been right.

"I only just decided yesterday. I was going to tell her tomorrow at dinner."

"You can't. Why would you do that?"

"Jacques heard of a position there that I would be perfect for."

Harry couldn't help himself. "He probably has several positions in mind for you."

"Shut up. The jealousy is cute and all, but you're not really in a 'position' to complain about _my_ sex life." Harry looked suitably abashed, but Draco continued. "I happen to care for Jacques quite a bit. I want to be with him."

"Then he can move here. You created something great here. You can't just leave it."

"Someone else can run it now."

"But they won't run it with the same kind of passion that you do. They won't care as much."

"Harry, don't."

"Are you just running from me?"

"The world doesn't revolve around Harry Potter."

"Draco!"

"There's nothing to run from."

"Nothing? You feel absolutely nothing for me?"

"Of course I feel something. I've moved on though. I thought you had too."

"I did. I moved on, and on, and on and you know what? I came back to you."

"Don't do this. Leave."

"Draco…"

"Harry, leave." His voice was firm. Harry would get no further today.

"You're making a huge mistake."

It was announced that week that Draco would be leaving after the vote. He was appointing his second in charge, Daniel, as his temporary replacement until the leadership committee could approve a permanent one. Daniel would get it. He was qualified, smart and passionate about their issues. But Harry hated him. As part of the leadership committee, Harry would have to help choose Draco's replacement and he didn't think he could stomach it. The conference room was filled with "congratulations" and other warm, fuzzy sentiments for Draco's huge life decision. All Harry could do was sulk.

He started spending more time around the office on the pretext of going over options to replace Draco. He wanted to make sure he was completely familiar with everything so that he could help the new leader get adjusted to the position. At least that's what he told everyone. Draco didn't seem to be buying it as a viable excuse.

On the day that Jacques finally left for France Andromeda had planned a special dinner at her place. She said Draco needed cheering up and seeing Teddy always did that. She didn't mention to him that Harry would be stopping by after dinner. He just happened to be bringing over the role of parchment that she asked him to pick up for her earlier in the day. If their timing was a bit too obvious no one said anything. Draco didn't seem to think there was any sort of pre-planned motive, so Harry asked him to go out for drinks, promising "just as friends."

They had a good time talking about Quidditch and friends. It was comfortable, so when the pub closed and Draco suggested they return to Grimmauld Place for Harry's private stash of top notch firewhiskey, Harry didn't see anything wrong with it. He honestly was beyond having any agenda at that point. Tired, happy and slightly buzzed on alcohol, he only wanted to prolong the feeling a little more. Drinks at home sounded like just what he needed.

An hour later they were both very near passing out in Harry's sitting room and had very nearly run out of things to talk about.

"No, really. I actually like how this place is looking. And you even got rid of Mrs. Black."

Harry nodded. Had it really been so long since Draco had been there?

"It really fits your personality somehow."

"I needed to change it. After you left… I needed it to look different so I wouldn't think of you every time I walked into a room."

Draco stared down into his drink. "Did it work?"

"No. That's why I don't spend a lot of time here."

"Not even when you bring dates home?"

Of course, even drunk, Draco had to squeeze a remark about that in there.

"No. They're mostly muggles. I go to their place."

"Except when it's Ginny."

There was no mistaking the bitterness in Draco's voice.

"Ginny… is a friend. What you saw, that was a mistake. I was depressed when you left and I turned to her. I would have never wanted you to see that."

"You make it sound like she hasn't been a regular around here since then."

"Since then you and I have been broken up. I'm allowed to get laid. And it may as well be her. You didn't care, so what did it matter?"

"I did care though."

Harry looked right up at him, trying to catch his eye. "Would you have come back?"

"I don't know. But I'm glad I didn't. I've made a name for myself separate from yours. I could have never done that with you."

Somewhere in Harry's alcohol-inhibited brain it occurred to him to remember his plan.

"I'm proud of everything you've done since then, Draco. But sometimes I just think what if…"

"Don't. We can't go down that road."

"Why?"

"Because 'what if' leads to answers that you don't want to hear."

"Yes, maybe we would have hated each other. Maybe we would have killed each other. But maybe, just maybe we could have been happy. We still loved each other."

Draco set his drink on the coffee table and repositioned himself on the sofa, father away from Harry, backed against the end of the furniture. "Love and attraction were never the problem. It was the fighting."

"I still love you. I'm still attracted-"

"Don't."

Harry slid a little closer. "We're not fighting now."

"No, but we will."

"You didn't want to talk about this because you're still in love with me. You're afraid that if we talk about it, it will lead to _not_ talking and you're terrified that you won't be able to stop the non-talking."

"You're insane, Potter." He tried to laugh, make it light and friendly, but his voice was a bit horse and his throat had gone incredibly dry.

Inwardly, Harry smirked. _Got him._ He slid closer again.

"Why is it so insane? If you're not still attracted to me then there's nothing to even talk about. But if you are, what would be so wrong about giving into that temptation?"

"I'm seeing someone."

"He's in another country. And don't you owe it to yourself to make sure that there's nothing still here for you before you commit to him?"

For one short moment he looked like he was about to give in, but then his expression changed to be replaced by one that Harry knew too well. His eyes narrowed to slits, trained suspiciously on Harry. _Shit._

"When did you become such a smooth-talker? Is that how you trick all those muggles into taking you home?"

Harry didn't have time for hesitation. One hand went to the back of Draco's neck and the other wrapped around his waist, pulling him into a kiss. After a brief, grunted protest Draco gave in completely and returned the kiss. Harry felt as if his entire body was on fire. In recent weeks he'd thought about this moment constantly. He'd imagined exactly how it would feel to kiss and touch Draco after all the time apart, drawing from the memories he had of their failed relationship. Sometimes he could nearly feel Draco touching him and he would wank, thinking of Draco's mouth on his cock. Somehow all those imaginings paled in comparison to the real thing.

Draco took charge, pushing Harry back onto the sofa as if the whole thing was his idea. He didn't waste time opening Harry's robes and removing both of their trousers. He looked down at Harry's cock and with barely a second thought, descended on it, taking it into his mouth. Harry ran his hand through Draco's hair, remembering with a smile that it was the only time he actually didn't mind his hair being put out of place.

"Fuck, Draco, that's amazing."

Was he imagining things or had Draco actually gotten better at this? Abruptly he pulled away.

"What the-"

Draco's eyes met his, dark with lust. "I don't want you to come yet."

Harry waited in anticipation as Draco stuck two fingers into his mouth, making sure to get plenty of saliva on them, and then reached behind him to finger himself. Harry watched, breathing hard while Draco stretched himself properly. Harry was thinking a little slower than usual since all his blood supply was being redirected away from his brain, but eventually he remembered what he should be doing. He grabbed his wand off of the table next to them and summoned lube.

"Sit up," Draco ordered.

Harry wasn't about to disobey the man in charge of his satisfaction and did as he was told. Draco snatched the lube out of his hand and coated Harry's cock. When he was satisfied with his work he moved to straddle Harry's lap. Without once taking his eyes off of Harry's he reached back to guide the thick cock into him.

"God, you're so tight," Harry moaned.

Draco leaned in for another long, slow kiss. His fingers were gripping Harry's shoulder and neck hard. It was surely leave bruises. Draco licked his lips and began rocking his hips, establishing a pace as Harry put his hand between their bodies to rub Draco's leaking erection.

It was so much better than Harry remembered it. He forgot how perfectly their bodies fit together, how they each knew where the other wanted to be touched and kissed. Afterward, as Draco collapsed on him, he realized that there really was no one else on earth who he would rather fuck. And that wasn't just about the sex. It was the way Draco's hair brushed against his face or the way those perfectly manicured fingernails dug into his shoulder blades. It was the voice. That voice that no one else could ever replace for him. He _needed_ Draco Malfoy.

They fell asleep together on the sofa, but Draco was gone first thing the next morning without waking Harry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: OK, good news I guess. I can't stick to an outline! That means that there will be 4 parts to this instead of just 3! This part was just way too long and then I decided to add more to it, so it became obvious that it would have to be split up a bit. So enjoy and I'll see you again with the 4th and final part soon.**

Part 3

It was Saturday and Harry didn't have work, but did have some errands that required him to go to Diagon Alley, which happened to be where Draco lived. It didn't take him long to decide to drop in on him. But Draco wasn't home. Harry frowned as he walked away from the building and toward Ron and Hermione's flat. Draco didn't have a regular job and most of his business he took care of during the week. And his boyfriend was currently out of the country, so where could he be? It was with no small amount of surprise that Harry realized that he had no idea where Draco would be. He didn't have a clue what kinds of things he did in his spare time anymore. Although Ron and Hermione might.

He knocked on their door, hoping that he wasn't interrupting them. Usually he sent an owl ahead instead of just showing up, but he really hadn't been planning on coming here. Hermione answered. He could tell from the look on her face that this wasn't the best time.

"I'm sorry. I know I should have owled, but I was down at Flourish and Blott's and I haven't come over in a while. I can go though if you're busy."

"No, I'm not busy exactly. We just… have company."

"Ron's mum? Because I'm really not ready for her match-making tactics again."

"No, Harry." She took a deep breath and seemed genuinely apologetic. "Draco is here."

"Oh."

"He didn't just come over or anything. He and I were going to go over some of the plans for this week, but then… he wanted to talk."

Oh. Even better. They were talking about him.

"So you know."

She nodded.

"I don't suppose he told you why he snuck out this morning."

"Harry…"

"No, you're right. I should go. You can tell me when he's not right on the other side of the door."

"It's not like that."

"No?"

Someone was speaking inside and Hermione looked behind her. The next thing Harry knew, Draco himself had come to the door.

"We should talk."

Harry nodded. "Now? Or do I get a consult with Hermione first too?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"We can go to your place."

Ten minutes later they were seated uncomfortably on opposite sides of Draco's sofa. Draco cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I'm sorry I left."

"I figured you had a reason."

"My reputation, for one. If anyone had seen me leaving this morning it would have been all over the papers. Jacques doesn't deserve to hear about something like that in the news."

Harry nodded. "Last night was… great."

Draco looked down at his lap. "It can't happen again."

"Why not?"

"For the same reasons I told you last night. I have a boyfriend. And you and I are not compatible."

"I love you. And I…" He trailed off knowing just how sappy his next words were going to be, but found that he was unable to rephrase it. "And I fell in love with you all over again. We were going to be together forever. What happened to that?"

"Life happened to that! We fought too much. In the end there just wasn't enough there to keep us together."

"No. We liked the fighting. We liked the disagreements and the sarcastic banter."

"We liked the make-up sex. There's a difference."

"We liked the passion. I don't want anyone else. And you would be the first to point out that I've been with enough people to know what I do or don't want."

"I'm with Jacques now."

"And you really love him?"

"Yes."

"As much as you loved me?"

"This conversation is over."

"No. You dumped me, you can dump him. You don't love him enough to move to France for him! What about your mother?"

"She loves Paris. She will visit us."

Harry was getting desperate. He could not let Draco go.

"Didn't last night mean anything? We may have been drunk, but… it had to mean something."

Draco hesitated. "It made me realize that two people who are completely incompatible in every other way can have really terrific sex. But great sex isn't enough to make a relationship. I'm sorry."

Another ten minutes went by to find Harry back in front of Ron and Hermione's door.

"He's still going to France," he blurted out when she opened the door. "But then, you knew that already, didn't you?"

Hermione stepped aside to usher him in. He threw himself down on the sofa and she sat next to him, pulling him until his head rested on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you got hurt," she said.

"Me too."

"I don't understand. I thought you were over Draco."

"Me too."

Ron walked in with a glass of firewhiskey, passing it off to Harry before sitting down across from the sofa.

"Well, what did you think was going to happen? One night in bed with you and he was just going to change all of his plans? Nobody is that good." He pulled away from her with a scowl and took a drink from his glass. "Maybe you should work on actually dating someone instead of sleeping around."

"I dated. It didn't work."

"Parvati's brother doesn't count."

"Sure he does. We were together for a whole month."

"And that was only two months after Draco left. You weren't ready."

"I'm not going to be ready. I'm going to get Draco back."

Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry didn't miss the significance in the look.

"What?"

She thought for a moment, obviously figuring out her story.

"He seems pretty determined. If you chase him now, he'll just run away faster."

"No," he said, sitting up straighter now. "There's something else."

Ron looked extremely guilty.

"He told you two something."

"He's our friend. It would be wrong to talk about anything that he told us in confidence."

"What did he tell you?"

Ron was the first to crack.

"He said he wants you and last night was unbelievable, but he's afraid of being stuck in a situation where he's constantly fighting with someone." He looked vaguely sick at having to admit to that, but Harry thought it probably had something to do with the mention of sex. That was one aspect of Harry's life that Ron really didn't want to hear about.

"That's it?"

"And he told me last week that Jacques is really easy to get along with and very smart, but he's ultimately boring. And the sex isn't as good."

Harry smiled. Hermione, meanwhile, was completely mortified. She buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sure Draco really wanted you blabbing all this to Harry!"

"Hey, I was Harry's friend first. There's seniority involved in my loyalty process."

"I'm going to get him back."

"Harry, Ron shouldn't have told you that. Even so, it doesn't change anything. This is Draco's decision. If he wants to go to France, then he is free to do that."

"Hermione, I don't ask much from you, but I need you to support me on this. Or if not, at least don't interfere. I need this." She seemed sympathetic, but stern. "For four years I have been trying to forget Draco. I've tried dating, I've tried being single and I've tried sleeping around. None of it worked. Sure, it's fun, but it's not meaningful. I had the one person I was meant to be with and I let him go. I get that now. As corny as it sounds, he is who I was destined to be with. Since we were eleven, standing in Madam Malkin's, we were destined to be together. I need you behind me."

"You don't need to wax poetic about it," she huffed. "You had me at the first 'I need you.'"

He grinned and pulled her into a big hug. "Thank you."

"But you can't just go around breaking up relationships. You need to make sure this is what he wants. If he still goes, you need to let it happen. No stalking him in Paris."

Harry nodded.

"He's going to know what you're up to now. And he feels guilty for cheating on Jacques, so you have to be sensitive to that."

"Maybe I should find a date and make him jealous."

"If you had a month to make the plan work it would be great, but you have a week. You can't waste time on jealousy. Be sincere and thoughtful." She must have remembered who she was talking to. "Or at least fake it."

"I can do that."

***

The week leading up to the vote was hectic. There was a lot of controversy among wizards about it still and Umbridge was doing everything she could to ensure that the law wouldn't pass. She didn't have a very solid argument for her cause, so she resorted to half-truths, lies and outright slander. No one was immune. Draco had been the first one hit because he was in charge. Flyers soon showed up around Diagon Alley and Hogsmead that revealed scandalous information about nearly everyone who was on the committee, most of it lies. Harry thought maybe she would avoid negative remarks about him. After saving the Wizarding world twice and becoming a respected Auror, most people didn't want to believe the bad parts. Attacks on his character could very easily backfire on her cause. But apparently personal retribution was a stronger motivator for her than he thought.

The nation-wide vote would take place on a Friday. On Monday of that week the Daily Prophet printed a picture of Harry stumbling out of a muggle pub with a random man, a photo taken months ago. In the article Umbridge was quoted as saying, "Poor Harry. Once a respected hero, he has clearly been corrupted by the gay lifestyle. Legalizing such a perversion will only serve to spread corruption throughout our world. This will destroy the entire notion of family, which is the building block of our great society."

"Yes, I'm sure she really cares about my corruption," Harry had scoffed when he saw it. He threw the paper in the trash next to Draco's desk.

"She's said worse about you."

"Then why have I never felt more insulted?"

"Because she attacked who and what you are. It's one thing to have someone disagree with your actions, but she just said that an entire population of people is immoral, due to something that they can't even control."

"Which I should be used to from her. She's got more prejudices than the Death Eaters I think. Werewolves, giants, half-bloods, gay people… the list goes on."

"Last week she said that gay marriage posed more of a threat to our society than the Death Eaters ever did."

Harry shook his head in disgust. "I don't get it."

"Well let's just hope that more people don't get it and vote for us."

"We should launch some sort of counterattack."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to sink to her level." He busied himself shuffling papers and then cleared his throat hesitantly. "However, if the _Daily Prophet_ happens to get word that she had her gay cousin banned from the country on trumped up charges, by exploiting her position in the Ministry… well that couldn't really work out well for her."

Harry sat up straighter. "What? She did?"

"So say my sources. Rumor has it someone is headed to the paper right now with proof and it will be in the morning edition."

"You did this?"

He shrugged. "I am merely a concerned citizen. I wouldn't want to believe that anyone in the Ministry would abuse their power in such a way. If the revelation of this happens to coincide with the vote, then it works out nicely for everyone."

Harry grinned. "It's perfect! You sneaky little bastard! That's beautiful!"

"It's a shame I will have to take time out of my busy day to give a press conference about how horrified I am by such behavior in the Ministry."

Draco smirked back, but Harry soon found his own smile disappearing.

"This is exactly why you can't leave."

Draco's pleasant expression turned quickly to a scowl. They had been getting along well, despite their weekend fling. Draco was determined not to bring it up and Harry followed his lead, not wanting to piss Draco off. This, however, crossed the line back into unpleasant territory.

"Don't."

"You love this. You're good at it. You can't just leave it all behind."

"And why should I listen to you? You want me to stay for your own reasons."

"Forget about me!" Harry yelled. Draco raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "Really. This isn't about me. You don't belong in France any more than I would. And I just can't figure out why you would think that you do. You wouldn't leave your mum and your office here for some man you've known a few months. You worked hard for the respect that you have now. Why would you throw it away?"

"I'm not. I'm moving on to new things. And I want to be near my boyfriend."

Harry shook his head sadly. "He shouldn't be asking you to give up so much for him. And you should know better than to give it."

Draco didn't have a response to that so Harry stood and went to the door. Then something else occurred to him.

"If this is the last week you're here, then I'll wish you luck because I love you and I want you to be happy. But I really wish that you would change your mind. You belong here. I believe that. Even if you don't want to have anything to do with me, even if you never look at me again, you belong here."

And he left. He had bared his soul for Draco. There wasn't much else he could do.

The scandal unleashed the next day was the talk of Diagon Alley. Unfortunately Wednesday Umbridge had bribed someone to confirm that the charges against her cousin were legal and she accused Draco of trying to discredit her three days before the vote. Thursday and Friday the _Prophet_ ran a two-part interview with Draco in which he talked openly about the feud with Umbridge and the work that the G.L.W.A. did. The whole thing had been Draco's idea and he happened to have a contact at the paper who was sympathetic to their cause. Since the interview ran both days, there was little time for Umbridge to reply to it and many people went to vote with Draco's words fresh in their minds.

Draco and Harry hadn't spoken much since Monday, just passing comments about the work they were doing. Harry knew from Ron and Hermione that Draco was very busy packing his things. He was going to move all of his things out of his flat by Sunday, so that didn't give much time to rest after the vote. Harry wasn't sure what more he could do, short of tying him down. Narcissa and Andromeda had both tried to talk him into staying. So had Ron, Hermione and nearly everyone at the G.L.W.A.

Friday morning was insane. Everyone was coming into the office to answer any questions that voters had on the law and also to keep track of the voting results as they came in. Harry and Draco had cast their ballots first thing in the morning and headed to the office to wait. They were the only ones there for at least an hour and no owls were arriving yet. Plenty of time for awkward silence and Harry finally got tired of it.

"Are you all packed and ready to go?"

Draco barely spared a glance at him from across the table on which his fingers were nervously drumming. "Let's not do this."

"You don't want to talk about it?"

"Not with you."

"Why? What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing. I just don't feel like fighting today."

"I wasn't going to fight. I was going to make small talk. We are capable of not fighting. We haven't fought once all week."

Draco sighed. "Yes, I am packed." He paused, frowning. "No, I am not ready to go."

Harry stared at him with wide eyes.

"I have a lot of people to say goodbye to."

"I'm sure it will be hard."

"He's not asking me to give up anything," he said quietly, a continuation of their previous conversation.

"But you're doing it because that's what you think he wants or at least because that's what it will take for your relationship to work. It would be one thing if you found some amazing job in France that you wanted and decided to make a huge change in your life and move away. This… you're talking about great opportunities and new jobs to justify making your boyfriend happy. You've been dating for just a few months and yet you're ready to turn your entire life upside down. What if you decide that you don't love him that much? What if you break up? Will your new life there still be meaningful?"

Draco shut his eyes tight as if he were trying to ignore Harry's observation entirely. After several silent minutes had passed he spoke quietly.

"I don't know how to say goodbye to you."

"I don't want you to."

"I know."

There were so many things Harry wanted to say right then that he couldn't put them into words. Why couldn't Draco just see that they should be together? Why couldn't that just be enough? They were interrupted by the arrival of Dustin and Marlene.

"We wanted to let you know that we voted!" said Dustin, smiling brightly.

Marlene shook her head at his excitement. Their relationship was one that Harry sometimes had trouble figuring out. The friendship that they formed in the Order had grown. There were times when Harry thought they could almost be a couple although he saw no real evidence of it. She had become very protective of Dustin since the night he was injured at the Leaky Cauldron. Now they were practically inseparable.

"We appreciate your support."

"Now we're going to breakfast," said Marlene with a pointed look at Dustin. "He was so bloody excited to vote and tell you, I couldn't even get some eggs before we went traipsing all around town."

"You sound bitter," Harry observed.

"Damn right I am. He showed up at my place at seven and woke me up. Seven! On a day that I don't even have to work."

"Okay, we can go now."

"Oh goody."

"We'll see you guys tonight at the party though." Harry nodded to him. "It's still happening here, right?"

"Yes. I got several cases of firewhiskey. Either we'll celebrate or we'll drown our sorrows."

"It will pass," muttered Draco. "It has to pass."

"Either way we'll get completely smashed and wake up with someone else's underwear on," Dustin laughed.

Draco snorted in amusement. "That happen to you often?"

"Not since New Year's."

Marlene huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Yes, as wonderful as it would be to hear about your sex life, I want my breakfast."

Dustin rolled his eyes and followed her to the door. When they were gone Harry turned back to Draco.

"What's going on with those two?"

"I haven't got a clue."

Throughout the day Harry found himself staring at Draco, wondering if there was anything that he could do this late in the game to keep him in London. He wasn't ready to say goodbye and he knew he never would be.

Luckily the news coming in was mostly good. They were winning in most areas. There were still many people sending owls questioning what exactly the law was for. Umbridge had planted enough doubt that some were worried about it. And then there were the few letters that Harry threw straight into the fire. They were the ones in which less friendly citizens detailed exactly why they were voting against the law and were filled with homophobic hatred. On the whole though, more positive than negative.

The final results were supposed to be coming through between seven and eight that evening and everyone was gathered at headquarters for the news. Harry was exhausted. He knew if the news was bad he wasn't even going to have the energy to drink himself into a miserable stupor. The office was silent except for the occasional nervous tapping on a desk or sigh of impatience. Draco had gone to the Ministry to wait for official word and he would apparate back as soon as he knew anything.

The door swung open at quarter to eight and everyone jumped, only to see Ron standing there.

"Did I miss anything?"

Harry let out the breath he'd been holding. "No."

"I just got out of work."

"You could have stayed at the Ministry with Draco and found out."

"I wanted to be here with everyone. This is where the party is."

"Sit down."

Ron looked around at all the sober faces. "We're going to win though, right?"

"We don't know," Harry snapped. "That's the whole point of voting."

Hermione pulled Ron into the seat next to her. "It's going to be a close margin," she explained.

Ten minutes later the door opened again. Draco stepped inside and glanced around at everyone with a very serious expression.

"Well?"

He took a deep breath and looked straight at Harry. His lips slowly curved into a wide smile. "We won."

The cheers filled the room. Harry ran and pulled Draco into a hug. They were being congratulated and patted on the back, but Harry held tight to Draco and Draco didn't pull away.

"_You_ did this, Draco. I'm so proud of you."

When they finally separated Harry had never seen Draco so happy before. The happiness that Harry felt was clouded by the sad knowledge that Draco was leaving in two days.

"Let's get that firewhiskey out," said Draco.

"Never too early in the evening to get piss drunk."

Draco excused himself to give a statement to his reporter contact, but was back within minutes to give a thank you speech to everyone at the G.L.W.A. Then the party really got started. George made sure they had loud music, while Mrs. Weasley brought food. Nobody had eaten much all day and Harry realized just how hungry he was.

The entire night was amazing. There were three marriage proposals in the office after the announcement was made. Now that it was legal, several couples made plans to get married right away. It made Harry feel nostalgic to see all of this happening around him and remember the plans he and Draco made in this very building when the G.L.W.A. was first founded.

_Just wait. You will change the world. And when you do I promise I will get down on my knee right then, right here. I can't wait until we can get married._

That was a long time ago though. Those days were over. Now he was faced with the thought of losing Draco for good. He tried to have fun; it was a party after all, but it just wasn't working. Hermione managed to drag him to the corner of the office that passed for a dance floor for the night.

"You know I don't dance."

"I'll lead then."

He let her put his hand on her waist while she guided them to a slow song. He had seen her dancing with Draco earlier and figured she had an agenda. Finally she got to it.

"Have you talked to him?"

"No."

"He wants to stay. All you have to do is give him a reason."

"I've given him plenty of reasons."

"So what are you going to do?"

He shrugged. "Watch him leave and then spend all my time pining for him."

She stopped dancing suddenly and swatted him hard on the arm. "Harry James Potter, when did you become a quitter? The Harry Potter I know wouldn't just roll over and play dead."

"I don't know how to keep him here unless we tie him up."

"Well, you can tie him up all you want, after you convince him to stay. Just tell him how you feel."

"I have. He doesn't care."

"Sure he does. Maybe you just have to remind him _why_ he cares." She glanced to the side of the dance floor where Draco was chatting with some of their friends. "Go get him."

She went to find Ron, leaving Harry to confront Draco.

"May I have this dance?" asked Harry.

Draco smiled in reply and took his hand. After a few moments of dancing in silence Harry finally spoke up.

"I really am proud of you, Draco. You made all of this happen."

"I had help."

"But it was your leadership."

"Stop; I'll blush," he said dryly.

"I don't know why we always fought so much. Just personality conflicts, huh? But you know that I would never hurt you intentionally."

"I know that."

"Since we were eleven all we've known how to do is fight. But I can't picture my life without you. And I don't want to."

Harry half expected Draco to pull away, but he didn't.

"If you leave this weekend then I guess I can't do anything about that, but I don't want you to go. I don't want you to belong to anyone else. Maybe it took me a while to figure that out, but I did now. Maybe we just needed to grow up. We thought just because we'd been to hell and back that qualified us to be grownups. We weren't."

"Now you're all grown up and you've seen the error of your ways?"

He sounded skeptical, but not completely disbelieving, which was all Harry could ask for.

"I'm saying that even when we're fighting I want you."

"Harry…"

"Draco," Hermione interrupted. They broke apart as she handed him an envelope. "This came for you just now."

He opened it and began walking toward his office, calling back over his shoulder that it was from Jacques. Hermione turned back to Harry.

"Any luck?"

He didn't think he had ever actually wanted to hit Hermione before, but now he did. "Yes, until you ruined it! You tell me to get him to stay and just when I'm about to make progress you step in! Whose side are you on? You couldn't have kept the letter hidden for another hour?"

"It will take more than that. You can't get him back by hiding his boyfriend's letter. It has to be his informed choice."

"Damn you and your ethics."

She smiled. "He's only leaving because he's running. This shouldn't be hard."

He knew that she was right and followed into Draco's office. Harry found him sitting behind his desk, deep in thought. Jacques' letter was unfolded in front of him. Harry didn't say anything when he entered, but waited for Draco to speak first.

"He said congratulations. And he cleaned out half of his closet for me."

"Only half? Has he seen your wardrobe?"

They shared a warm smile at the joke, but Draco quickly sobered.

"I love him," he said quietly. "I do. And you make it hard because I never got over you. I never really let go."

"Then don't go."

"But maybe then I can finally get over you. I can be happy with him." He paused and looked up at Harry with sad eyes. When he spoke he emphasized each word. "I could be happy. Do you know how important that is? Do you know how many men I have fucked trying to forget you?"

"Then why forget? I haven't moved on, you haven't. Why can't we be together? We've changed, we've grown up. We can try this again."

Draco turned away and Harry did some fast thinking.

"You remember the night I told you I was going to propose to you?"

He smiled. "I think of it almost every time I walk into this building. If I recall correctly it was supposed to be right next to the front door immediately following the passing of this law. I thought about it a lot today. It's hard not to picture that alternate reality."

"You can't move on from that. There's too much history between us; we're supposed to be together."

"Just because we always have doesn't mean that it's supposed to continue. Just because we're not fighting tonight doesn't mean that we can get along."

"When I leave my clothes lying on the bathroom floor I want to hear you nag at me to pick them up. And when I come home from work I want to come home to you. I thought for a while that I just wanted to not be alone, but that's not good enough. It has to be you."

"You're repeating yourself."

"Because it's the truth. And because it's my last shot. In a couple days you'll be gone and I'll be alone, so I'm saying it now, in case there's not later."

"Go back to the party, Harry. I need to be alone."

Harry nodded and left the room, respecting his decision. But he didn't just leave the room. He made his way through the lobby where the party was still going strong, managed to find Hermione and told her he was going home.

"I've done everything I can. He's the only one who can stop him now."

And despite the happy night and the amazing feat they accomplished, Harry felt tired and worn down and defeated. He arrived back at Grimmauld Place to find several letters waiting on the table. One from Andromeda and Teddy congratulating him, several from fans and old school friends and one from Professor McGonagall. She had retired years ago, but kept in touch with Harry now and then. Her letter was glowing in praise and she closed with her belief in how proud his parents and Dumbledore would be of him today. As much as this note meant to him, it still left him feeling hollow.

Maybe he was wrong. Perhaps he would find someone else who could fill this void in his heart. Someday Draco could be nothing more than a distant memory. He half hoped that it was the truth. He would take numbness over this aching.

He poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. And then another. And another. At some point he passed out on the sofa.

**Author's Note: I have to give dubious credit to someone. My inspiration for Umbridge in this story (and particularly this chapter) came from Oklahoma politician Sally Kern. Last year she said that homosexuality is more of a threat to America than terrorism. This year she said our economic problems are a judgment from God for accepting homosexuality. Every time I see her I just think of Umbridge. It's so sad that kind of people still exist.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: And here is the last part. A bit shorter than the other parts, but hopefully with a satisfying ending. Thank you for reading!**

Part 4

Harry woke some time later to a pounding on the door. It was two a.m. Slowly he dragged himself to his feet to investigate. Pulling the door open he was stunned to find Draco there. It had begun to rain and his hair was wet and messy and very unDraco-like.

"Were you trying to make me fall in love with you again?"

Harry blinked, trying to get his brain focused. Finally he nodded. "Did it work?"

"Damn it, Harry! Of course I love you. That never changed."

Suddenly Harry was very much awake. "Then why are you going to Paris?"

"I can't break up with you again. If we were together we would fight until we hated each other and I can't go through that again. And if I leave town then there's no temptation."

"Is there temptation now?"

Draco nodded. Somehow they had gotten closer together the past few seconds.

"Right now I want to kiss you. But if I do, then I won't be able to stop."

"And?"

"And it scares me that I would throw everything away for you in a second."

"Scary isn't necessarily bad."

Draco looked like he was about to say something, but then glanced behind him quickly. "Can I come in? I always think someone is watching me."

Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco's paranoia, but then realized it wasn't an unfounded fear. They had plenty of people wanting to follow them and on this night the reporters would be particularly devoted. He let Draco in and shut the door. But as he turned around, expecting Draco to follow him into the sitting room, he was attacked and pinned against the door. Draco's lips were just an inch away from his own.

"Why didn't you want me back before I was involved with someone?" he whispered. "Why did you have to wait until now when everything is so fucked up?"

Harry was breathing hard and licked his lips before answering. "Because that's when I knew that I couldn't lose you."

He didn't waste any more time on self restraint and closed that inch between them with a kiss. Draco kissed back eagerly, wrapping his arms around Harry and pressing their bodies close. Draco was frantically trying to undress him and it registered at some point that they should move away from the door. Harry led them down the hall to the stairs, still kissing frantically. He finally broke the kiss and took Draco's hand, pulling him up the stairs. As soon as they reached the top Draco pulled him into another heated kiss and they stumbled down the hall to Harry's room. Once inside, Draco pushed him down onto the large bed and climbed on top.

Draco pulled his shirt off over his head and attacked Harry mouth again while he reached for the hem of Harry shirt. They parted long enough to pull the clothing off, but were pressed back against each other moments later. Harry reached to Draco's belt buckle and loosened his trousers until he could push them and his shorts down. There were still too many clothes. Harry reached down, stroking Draco's growing erection. The blond responded by thrusting against Harry.

"Fuck," Harry groaned. "I want you in me. Now."

Draco hurried to pull his trousers off the rest of the way, while Harry did his own. He then reached into the nightstand and pulled out lube that Draco took from him immediately. They resumed kissing, but it was slower, less frantic and Draco reached between Harry's legs, slipping a lubed finger inside of him. Harry moaned and pushed back against Draco eagerly.

"Always so impatient," Draco muttered with a smile.

He reached down to touch Harry's face, exchanging silent "I love you's".

"Fuck, I've missed this," Draco gasped, sliding into Harry.

"Me too."

Draco shifted forward to kiss him hard on the mouth, grabbing at his messy black hair.

"I've wanted this for so long," Draco murmured against his lips.

Draco thrust in harder and their grunts and moans filled the quiet house. The bed creaked under them and the headboard hit the wall in time with their fucking. Harry wrapped his legs around Draco's waist, pulling him closer.

"Touch yourself," said Draco.

Harry did as he was told, stroking himself while Draco fucked him. He came minutes later spraying semen between their bodies. With a few more hard thrusts Draco came and collapsed down on Harry. Out of breath and dripping with sweat and other fluids Draco reached over the end of the bed to his discarded trousers and took out his wand. One cleaning charm later they were curled up close with Draco's head on Harry's chest.

"So I guess you're staying in London?" Harry asked, only half joking. He hoped that their love making meant that Draco had changed his mind, but he couldn't really know for sure anymore. Their hot sex session a week ago hadn't changed his mind, so maybe this wouldn't either.

"I'll have to talk to Jacques. I should go there this weekend and explain things." Harry squeezed Draco a little tighter at the mention of him leaving. "He deserves to hear it from me and not in a letter. I owe him that much."

Harry finally nodded in agreement. Draco turned onto his stomach and looked at him seriously. Harry knew that what they were talking about was very important, but he couldn't help noticing and appreciating the way that the blanket only covered half of his arse, leaving Draco's muscular back exposed.

"Things have to be different," Draco said sternly.

"I can't promise we'll never fight."

"I know. No more storming out and not speaking for days. And no more clubs and going home with strangers. I want you, not whoever you're fucking."

"That's not even an issue. If I have you I don't want anyone else."

"And I'm not moving back in. Not right away. The mistake we made last time was living together before anyone even knew we were a couple. I moved in for practical reasons, but just stayed. We'd only been together a couple months. We just went too fast."

"We won't make the same mistakes again. How can we? There's no war this time?" Harry joked.

Draco smiled and pulled himself closer to stroke Harry's face. "I missed your silly jokes. And I love you."

"I love you too."

Draco looked around at the dimly lit bedroom and the décor that was quite different than when he lived there.

"Granger decorated in here, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

It was full of earth tones, oak furniture and soft lighting. In Draco's original design it had been much darker with a lot of green tones. Harry remembered telling Hermione he didn't care what it looked like as long as it was nothing like Draco. He even got a new bed.

"It's nice, peaceful even."

"I hope that means you'll be coming over more often."

"Mm, yes, I think so. I don't suppose any of our family or friends will be too surprised? I assume they were all supporting you on your mission."

"Mission?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know you had my mother and my aunt on your side. Ron and Hermione too, I'm sure. You've been plotting this for weeks."

Harry's eyes widened in an innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Draco rolled his eyes. "It's okay. I wasn't really expecting anything less. I just thought I was strong enough to resist."

"So you're saying you're weak?"

"Of course not. You are just more persuasive than I gave you credit for."

Harry laughed. No, Draco would never admit to weakness.

"It must be the whole Harry Potter persona. I fell for the celebrity."

"I could give you my autograph."

Draco was deep in thought, tracing invisible patterns with his finger on Harry's chest. "We've missed so much. And we can't get those four years back."

"No, but we can spend the next four together. And the four after that. And the four after _that_."

"Making long term plans already, are we?"

"You're all I need. Whatever you want to do, I'm with you."

Draco smirked and sat up, straddling Harry's waist and leaning in for another kiss.

"Right now? I can think of several things I want to do."

***

**April 15, 2007 **

It had been a long day at the office. Draco was in the process of setting up several different projects for the G.L.W.A. and the paperwork was becoming impossible. Not only that, but he was currently in talks with Minister Shacklebolt to work for the Ministry as a public policy adviser.

In the months since he and Harry got back together things had seemed to get back to some kind of normal. It only took Draco three weeks to decide to move back into Grimmauld Place and their family was thrilled. Narcissa welcomed Harry back into the Malfoy family with opened arms. She never told Draco just how much she hadn't liked Jacques, but he figured it out in the way that she not-so-subtly hinted that she wanted wedding bells and grandchildren as soon as he announced that he was with Harry again.

What was particularly good about their relationship was that they were getting along great. They fought often, just as they always had, but it wasn't viscious as it once was. They had come to understand that the passion behind their fighting was part of who they were. And they always remembered that they would rather be fighting with each other than doing anything with anyone else. Nobody got angry and stormed out. They talked out their differences and always made up, which was really the best part of the fighting. There was no screaming or name calling. No bitterness or lingering hostility. Even Ron and Hermione admitted that they were getting along better than they ever had. Maybe they did just need to grow up.

There was a knock on his office door and before he could answer it opened and Harry appeared there.

"You're working late."

"I was just finishing so that I could get home." He took in Harry's work robes. "Did you only just now leave work for the night?"

He nodded. "Ron and I finally had a breakthrough with the case of the muggle attacks in Edinburgh. We were sent up there this afternoon."

As Harry made his way to the chair in front of the desk Draco noticed a slight limp.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I caught a hex in my bad leg. It's nothing."

Most of the time the leg that had been cursed while fighting Pansy Parkinson didn't bother him, but it was more sensitive to injury. Harry often said that it was his reminder, so that he would never again get as carried away as he had during the Death Eater Rebellion. Any time he was getting a little too cocky something would happen to his leg and he would remember that he was capable of making mistakes.

That was the one part that he couldn't stand about Harry's job. There were days when he came home completely a wreck, and others that he didn't come home at all. Harry was good about always getting a message to him if he would be gone, but Draco still didn't like it one bit. He worried about Harry far too much sometimes.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine. Annoyed is all. It ruined all my plans."

"What plans?"

"Well I was going to come and get you when I got out of work. Thank Merlin you never leave the office at a reasonable time."

"What does it matter? Were you going to walk me home? It's romantic, but not necessary."

Harry didn't answer that. "Are you ready to go soon?"

"I suppose I can go home and tend to your injury."

"It doesn't need tending. It's just sore."

"I'm sure." He'd heard that one before, but he didn't push the matter as he busied himself clearing off his desk for the night.

Harry, ever the gentleman, opened the door for him. It wasn't that Draco had a problem with Harry's actions themselves, but he was being very unHarry-like tonight and that was cause for suspicion. Draco searched his memory for anything that he might have missed. They didn't have any plans for that evening. It wasn't anyone's birthday, nor a holiday and they had made a deal a long time ago not to remember their anniversary. They had too many of them. Did they count from the first time they kissed? Or when they had sex? When they came out? Or if they counted from when they got together again… Draco thought about it a moment. It had been a year already. One year ago exactly was when he decided to stay with Harry and break up with Jacques. It was, in a way, their anniversary.

They were almost to the front door when Draco realized this. He paused and looked at Harry, wondering what he could have planned and if he should have done something special too. If asked previously he would have said that Harry was really more the type to forget anniversaries.

"What?" asked Harry when he noticed Draco's peculiar look.

"I only just remembered what day it is."

"Is it a special day?"

"Don't give me that. You know it is. It's a year ago tonight we got back together."

"No."

"No?"

"No. It is a year ago tonight that you made the biggest step forward ever in getting equal rights for gay wizards. We didn't get back together until after midnight, so that's tomorrow."

"Alright," Draco said slowly. "So, what's going on then?"

Harry turned toward him, running a hand over his cheek, studying it intensely.

"We lost four years because of our stupidity."

"But it worked out in the end."

"The point is, I don't think we should waste anymore time. I promised you something a long time ago. And because of our wasted time, I wasn't able to keep my promise."

Draco shook his head in confusion. Harry smiled and looked around at the room. He took a step to his left.

"I think I was standing right here when I said it."

Draco's jaw dropped to the floor. He remembered that day and what Harry was supposed to do.

"You're about a year late."

"I'm _exactly_ a year late, but I figure better late than never, right?"

Without another word Harry sank down to one knee, completely ignoring the minor pain in his leg.

"You don't have to do the whole thing. My answer won't change if you're standing."

"A promise is a promise." He took a deep breath. "Draco, you are without doubt the love of my life. I could search the whole world and never find anyone I love as deeply and as completely as you. And I wouldn't want to. Will you marry me?"

Draco felt the sting of happy tears. And he hated it. He didn't normally cry at all, couldn't even remember the last time he had. He briefly considered how horribly cliché and sappy it was to cry at a marriage proposal. But all that didn't matter this time. Knowing that Harry would likely not want to stand up on his leg again, Draco got down on the floor in front of him. He threw his arms around Harry's neck.

"Of course I'll marry you. I think I wanted to marry you the first time I kissed you."

Harry smiled, kissing him hard on the mouth. Draco parted his lips for him, deepening the kiss. Draco ran his hands through Harry's messy hair, loving the feeling of it. Harry pulled back finally, flushed.

"You know we're still on the floor of your office, right?"

"Mm. Yes, I suppose we can finish this at home."

"You might want to owl your mum first."

"You told her you were doing this?"

He nodded. "She's probably expecting news by now. I was supposed to be here a couple hours ago."

Draco cocked his head to the side. "Who else did you tell?"

"Er, Ron. And Hermione. And Dustin overheard me telling Ron and told Marlene. And Mrs. Weasley. And George."

He sighed, smiling. "Anyone else?"

"Andromeda and Teddy. But that's it, I swear."

"It's a good thing you didn't back out then because by morning it will be in the _Daily Prophet_."

"I wouldn't have backed out, no matter how many people knew."

Draco helped him off the floor and they stepped out into Diagon Alley. After performing the locking charm on the office he turned to Harry.

"When do you want to get married?"

"Now. Tomorrow. Next week. I don't care as long as I can spend the rest of my life with you."

"Well, you have that already."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**__We all knew I wouldn't be able to leave them alone. Credit for the inspiration for this goes to cho-chan09 who suggested we find out a little more about H/D's future. Several other people have asked about Lucius too, so I figured we could all use a visit with him. The next part will be the wedding and I'll be posting that in just a few minutes. Just so everyone knows, I am not planning right now on continuing this. I'm sure someone will ask about further chapters and my answer is "never say never". I can't say that there's no way I'll add to it, but I have no desire or inspiration to at this time. Thank you all for reading and your reviews are greatly appreciated!

**Common Ground**

"Harry, will you quit fidgeting? You're making _me _nervous."

"Well, it's not like this is just some ordinary afternoon visit."

"You've been here about a hundred times before."

"Yeah."

"And you've seen _him_ before. If I recall the two of you came to some sort of understanding at one point."

Harry looked up at the ominously dark building. "We agreed that we wanted the same people dead. And we wanted you safe."

"There you go. You have some common ground; me."

"Yeah. Draco, I know you love your father, but he has tried to kill me. You remember that, right?"

Draco smiled and grabbed Harry's hand. "That was a long time ago. He can't hurt you now; it would be the same as hurting me."

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Together they walked through the gate, under the huge sign that read, "Azkaban Prison."

The prison had been remodeled in the post-war years, but somehow it still seemed dark and intimidating, as prisons often did. Dementors had never been implemented again and many of the policies concerning sentencing and treatment of prisoners had changed since Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister. In fact, he had made many changes to the wizarding world and was so popular that nobody had a chance of replacing him.

Harry was quite proud to work for this Ministry, but not as proud of his future father-in-law. It was so easy to forget sometimes what being a Malfoy used to mean. Nowadays it meant all the wonderful things that Draco had accomplished. But there was a time when the name Malfoy was tainted by Dark Marks and war and the disgrace Lucius had brought his family. It was still hard on Draco. For the most part he had gotten past it, but there was always someone who saw only Lucius when Draco spoke and Draco was torn between loving his father and hating everything that his father had once stood for.

Harry and Draco were shown to the visitor's room and waited for Lucius to be brought to them. Harry was bouncing his leg nervously under the table when Draco set a firm hand on his knee. He shook his head slightly, a warning to calm down. Harry knew he had to get it together. This was just Lucius Malfoy. Draco was right; Harry had talked to him many times. But all those times were out of necessity and a common interest. It was never a social call. It was absurd to be nervous. Harry was a highly ranked Auror and Lucius was a prisoner. There was no threat and yet somehow Harry couldn't shake the idea that Lucius might just be able to kill him with one dirty look.

"Mr. Potter. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" Sarcasm was always a good way to start.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

"_Mister Malfoy_, is it? This must be serious. I haven't been called 'mister' in nine years."

Lucius took a seat at the table across from Draco and looked expectantly at his son.

"Hello, Father."

"Draco, I sense that this visit is not going to make me happy for some reason."

"I hope it will."

"Hm." He glanced at Harry and then back at Draco. "Then by all means, get on with it."

"Harry has asked me to marry him and I've said yes."

Lucius didn't seem at all surprised. "It took you long enough," he said to Harry.

"Sorry?"

"You two have been back together for what? A year? I thought for sure it would have happened by now. I prepared myself for it."

"You're not upset?" Draco asked eagerly.

"I'm not _happy_."

"But you'll give us your blessing?"

Lucius looked away quickly to hide the cringe.

"Father, please. We love each other."

"And if I don't give it?"

Draco hesitated. Harry thought it was a little naïve to think that he was just going to waltz in there and have Lucius open his arms to a former enemy, but Draco wanted desperately to believe only the best of his father.

"I… I will have to marry without my father's blessing then. But I don't want to."

Lucius sighed heavily.

"Father, your approval means a lot to me, but not everything. I must do what is right for me."

"I understand."

Harry studied Lucius closely. It pained him to deny Draco this, but then why was he doing it? "Draco, could you go get me a cup of water, please? It's so dry in here."

Draco was no fool. Harry didn't want a cup of water any more than he wanted to even come to the prison in the first place. He looked between Harry and Lucius and then nodded before leaving them alone.

"How can we settle this, Lucius?"

"There is nothing to settle, Potter."

"Is it just that it is me, or would you feel the same way if it was any other man wanting to marry your son?"

"It is both."

"Well then I don't know how to help you. Even if you succeeded in chasing me off, which you won't, Draco will never find a nice pureblood witch to fall in love with."

"You can't know that."

"No, I don't," Harry conceded. "I believe that we are all capable of loving people who we never thought we could love and so you're right; it could happen. I also know the chances of that happening are next to nothing. We were separated for four years and in that time he only dated men. So if you're hung up on having a gay son, then you need to get over that fast."

Lucius remained silent.

"If you can't accept that about Draco your relationship with him will change forever, maybe even be lost. And if you can't accept me… it will break his heart, he will go through with the marriage and you won't be a part of that. Whatever we do, any kids we have, the life we live from here on out, you will miss out on it."

"You won't actually have children, will you?"

"We've talked about it before, but I don't know." Lucius frowned, deep in thought. "Deep down a big part of Draco has always just been a boy wanting to please his father. He's his own man now and doesn't need that, but he will always yearn for your approval."

"You would really have children?"

"Well, we obviously can't _have_ them, but adopt them perhaps." Harry smiled. He had found the old man's weakness. "It's the grandkids, isn't it? That's what's going to win you over?"

He scowled quickly. "No, Potter. No one is winning me over."

Harry laughed. "Look, sir, I love Draco. I have for a long time and we are… perfect for each other. One way or another we will spend the rest of our lives together and for his sake I want you to accept that. You have to see how good we are together, how happy he is. Don't you want your son to be happy?"

Draco arrived back at the table a moment later with a small paper cup in his hand.

"Thanks," Harry said, taking a sip. Then he excused himself to the loo, but really watched from just outside the room as Draco and his father talked. Suddenly Draco's entire face lit up and he actually gave his father a hug, which Lucius appeared to consider a mortifying event. Draco did not generally look favorably on such displays of emotion. He must have been truly excited to allow such a breakdown of decorum.

A short while later they were leaving the prison arm in arm.

"What did you say to him to get him to change his mind?"

"It's just my charming personality," Harry smiled.

"My father is not that easily charmed."

"You underestimate my abilities?"

"I would never. But you said something to him."

Harry smiled to himself. "We found some common ground."


	6. Chapter 6

**Forever Yours**

"Will you stop looking in the mirror? You're beautiful."

Draco growled in frustration and sat down next to Hermione who was calmly flipping through a magazine.

"Is it time yet?"

"Half hour left."

"I want to talk to him."

"No, you know the rules. Harry was adamant about them."

"You lie. _You_ were adamant. They are _your_ rules. Ridiculous superstitions."

"Well you two don't need any more bad luck."

"You ridiculous muggles say that the groom is not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It doesn't say anything about a situation involving two grooms."

"I'm just taking precautions. You wanted help planning this thing, so you got me and all my superstitions. It's bad enough you went against my advice and spent the night together."

"We live together, Granger. It's not like the days of blushing virgin brides. I need to see him. Now."

"For what? You saw him this morning."

"I want to talk to him."

"You're not getting cold feet."

"Of course not!"

"Then whatever it is, I'll deliver the message."

Three minutes later Hermione found herself on the way to the other side of the manor. The wedding would be out in the gardens and the guests were arriving. Most of the Weasleys were already there, but inside the house was relatively quiet. The hall was very long, connecting the east wing to the west one and she could see Ron coming toward her. She shook her head. Harry had sent him. They met in the middle with a smile.

"Harry's driving me mad."

"Draco isn't much better. He sent me with a message."

"Merlin. What is it?"

"He says that he is counting the minutes and he has so much love for Harry that it overflows the bounds of human understanding."

Ron made a face. "Thank Merlin Harry isn't so poetic. He says he loves Draco and can't wait to spend the rest of his life with him… or something like that."

"Is he nervous?"

"He had a drink to calm down. I had to take the bottle away from him though."

"You didn't let him get drunk!"

"Give me some credit. He's perfectly sober."

"He'd better be."

"I'll see you out there then?"

She nodded. "Remember, we're meeting just inside the French doors."

"You've only told me fifty times."

"Just making sure."

She turned to leave and he called her back. "Just so you know, I'm not going through this again. If you want to get married we're eloping."

She smirked. "Well, I guess you'll never even know _if_ I want to if you never ask me." And with that she went back to Draco to wait until she would deliver him to Harry.

Ron went back to the room where he and Harry had been ordered to stay. George and Ginny had been by earlier to offer congratulations and check in on them, but they were gone to sit with the rest of their family. Harry was alone and had nearly run out of fingernails to chew on. Ron had never seen him nervous like this.

"You need to relax, mate."

"Did you talk to Draco? What did he say?"

"He's counting the minutes and… something about overflowing love."

Harry's face broke into a dopey smile. "Really?"

"You need to get a grip."

"I know I'm being a complete idiot, but I can't help it. I'm going to marry Draco and that's just so… it makes me feel like a love-struck teenager."

"You know, if you'd said that to me ten years ago I would have had you committed to St. Mungo's. You'd get a room right next to Lockhart."

Harry grinned, reflecting on how different they all were back then. "I don't know how I could have hated him so much."

"Easy. He was an obnoxious prat."

"Yeah, he was," Harry sighed.

Ron shook his head. There was a dreamy, wistful look on his best friend's face that reminded him creepily of Luna Lovegood. What was it about love that turned people into sappy dolts? Not that Ron was unfamiliar with the feeling. He knew that Hermione had him wrapped around her finger. But it was different coming from Harry and Draco. They usually kept their public displays of affection and their gooey romantic words to a minimum, but ever since Harry's proposal four months ago, they were nearly impossible.

"I can't believe you're getting married at all."

"Why?"

"Well, it's so… grown up."

"We _are_ grownups."

"I suppose so."

Harry laughed. "It'll be you soon."

"Probably," he agreed, though he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic.

"It'll be great. It will be an adventure."

"Don't say it like that. Haven't we all had enough adventure? I like boredom." Ron glanced at his watch, realizing that it was almost time to go. "So in a few minutes you're going to walk down the aisle with Malfoy and be forever bound to him. How do you feel?"

The color drained from Harry's face and Ron immediately regretted asking quite like that. He'd thought the nerves had passed and it would be okay to just be normal.

"Is this normal pre-wedding jitters?"

Harry nodded, though he couldn't answer since he was busy hyperventilating. Sitting on the sofa in his tuxedo, bent over with his head between his knees, Ron wasn't really sure how to handle it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He was still breathing hard, but the color was starting to come back.

"I don't get it. How can you be so in love and coming up with sappy poetic messages one minute and then scared out of your mind the next? I know better than to think either one of you are having second thoughts."

"No. No second thoughts."

"Then what…?"

Harry sat up a little. "I feel like it's not real."

"What isn't?"

"After the war I couldn't believe it was over. And it turned out it wasn't. And I fell in love with Draco in the middle of a disaster when we were afraid for our lives. And when we were no longer in mortal peril, we couldn't stay together. Nothing has ever been perfect before. Not for me. And this whole last year with Draco has been so amazing. Any minute now I'm going to wake up."

"So you're just destined to be miserable and lonely? It's just a fluke that something is going right?" Harry shrugged. "Bollocks. You and Draco are the two most stubborn people I know, aside from my mum. And you're perfectly capable of making each other completely miserable."

"This is a really lousy pep talk. Some best man you are."

Ron ignored him. "_And_ you make each other happier than you've ever been. If disaster does strike it won't be because you woke up. Or because you tempted fate by grabbing happiness while it was right in front of you. So stop your morose attitude, straighten your suit and go marry the man you love."

Harry blinked. "That was… amazingly good advice."

"Why is everyone always surprised when I say something smart?" He looked up at the clock. "It's time."

Harry stood and took one last look in the mirror. His hair was a mess, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He didn't like the way his black suit fit either, but Draco had insisted that it was exactly how it was supposed to be.

"Am I ready?"

"Yes. Though Hermione will still insist that she needs to fix something when we see her."

They headed down the hall and made their way to the room that led out to the garden. Draco and Hermione were already there, as were Andromeda and Teddy. Teddy was in his own little suit to carry their rings and looking cute while his grandmother fussed over him. As soon as he saw Harry he jumped at the chance to get away from her.

"You look funny in a suit," he said.

"I _feel_ funny in a suit."

"Don't listen to him, Harry," said Andromeda. "You look wonderful. And so do you, Ron."

"Er, thanks."

It was true, Ron cleaned up pretty good. Hermione and Draco picked out all the clothing, so he only did as he was told and showed up to the fittings. Draco and Hermione made their way over to the others and Harry and Draco saw each other in their wedding tuxes for the first time. They'd been separated since just after they woke up that morning.

"You look…" Harry trailed off. There wasn't a word for it. He looked like some model right out of a magazine. He took a step forward and put his arms around Draco. "You look amazing."

"Okay, that's enough!" said Hermione, pulling them apart. "You have to save the public displays of affection for after the ceremony."

"Are you sure about that?" Ron whispered. "You make them save it up and they'll end up having sex right in front of the guests."

"We'll behave," Draco promised.

"Shall I tell them you're ready?" asked Andromeda.

Hermione looked them both over, straightening Harry's tie and trying to flatten his hair.

"I told you," Ron muttered to him with a smile.

"That should do it. Yes, we're ready."

Andromeda nodded and turned to Teddy. "Now, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes, Gram. We practiced it a million times! I'm not a baby."

She patted him on the head and left. A few moments later the music started. Teddy went first. Hermione turned anxiously to Harry.

"I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks."

"You have your vows, right? And Ron, you gave Teddy the rings? Oh no. Ron, who tied your tie?"

"I did."

She whipped her wand out, though Harry couldn't really tell where she had been keeping it; she didn't have any pockets on her dress. With one swish of the wand Ron's tie had fixed itself and she was pulling him toward the doors by the arm. He looked back at Harry and Draco.

"Good luck."

And then they were alone for the first time all day. Harry's lips were immediately on Draco's as their hands frantically ran over skin and through hair.

"You feel so good in Armani," Draco gasped.

"Mm, you too. Though you'd feel even better without it."

"You have to stop kissing me."

"Hm?" Harry mumbled against Draco's neck.

"We have to get married now."

"Just a few more minutes."

Outside the music was changing, their cue to start walking. Ron and Hermione looked at the doors expectantly, but nothing happened. They shared a knowing glance. That was the one thing Hermione hadn't planned for. She should have had someone stationed back there with them to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Go check on them," Hermione said in a quietly stern voice, while maintaining the polite smile required of the wedding party.

Ron's eyes bugged. "No way," he whispered. "Last time I walked in on them having sex I had nightmares for a month!"

"Well someone has to go."

"They'll come."

Her eyes closed against the mental picture his unintended pun had conjured. That was exactly what she was afraid of.

"Come on," said Draco. "There will be plenty of time for that later."

Harry reluctantly ceased his groping and straightened his suit. "If we'll be able to get away."

"Oh we will. Remember those secret passages in the garden? Nobody will even notice."

Harry grinned at him and turned to open the French doors. Their guests watched them as they made their way up the aisle to where Ron and Hermione waited. She was scowling ever so slightly. When they got to the front they waited for the music to stop. Ron leaned in to Harry.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"Is it that noticeable?"

"Your face is flushed and you're both grinning like a couple Cheshire cats."

Harry glanced over at Hermione who appeared to be involved in a quiet argument with Draco.

"Nothing happened."

"You mean nothing was finished."

Harry shrugged. "My wedding day. I can do what I want."

Ron accepted that for the time being. He had to, as the ceremony was about to start. And it was a beautiful ceremony. Everything went according to plan, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley cried. Even Narcissa looked a bit emotional, though Harry couldn't picture her actually crying. And when Harry and Draco finally ended the event with a kiss they didn't carry it out _too_ long.

The feast that followed the wedding was huge. Narcissa had outdone herself in the planning for this. Harry and Draco made the rounds, visiting with all the guests and doing all the things they were supposed to as newlyweds.

Teddy ran around with some of the other children, including Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire. The girl often acted as if she thought Teddy's metamorphmagus ability was silly. She would huff and roll her eyes when the other kids giggled at his changing hair color, but Harry often noticed that she watched him with fascination when she believed no one was looking. She was every bit as much of a flirt as her mother when she wanted to be, but with Teddy she played coy. In accordance with his grandmother's instructions Teddy had kept his appearance normal. But as soon as the service was over he was back to purple hair and the children loved him. Harry smiled as he noticed Victoire hanging around him, flaunting her pretty little blue dress.

After dinner Harry realized that Draco had disappeared and went in search of him. The manor was huge and it would be impossible to search the entire place, so he set off for the first most logical location; Lucius' office. Draco had admitted once before that it was one of his favorite places in the Manor to sit because he knew he wouldn't be bothered there and he could think and just feel closer to his father.

"Is my husband hiding from our guests?"

Draco looked up from his father's desk with a wide grin. "Husband?"

"Husband, partner, spouse. Whatever you prefer. I would say 'most gorgeous man on earth who I am spending the rest of my life with' but it gets wordy."

"Husband is just fine. I just can't believe it's finally happened."

"You're stuck with me now."

"No one I'd rather be stuck with."

Harry watched as Draco's gaze fell on a framed photo.

"You miss your father, don't you?"

"I wish he could have been here. I know you don't care, but… He's not just those things he's in prison for. I know he did a lot of bad things, but I can't picture the man I know doing those things. I have to believe that he truly does regret it all, but I… I don't know."

"You don't have to justify him to me. He's your father and you love him. You can hate the things he did without hating him. I wish he was here for you too. At least he gave us his blessing, despite the fact that he hates me."

"Just think, he's your father-in-law now."

"Did you have to say that?"

"You have to deal with the reality." He got up and came over to embrace Harry. "Here's another reality for you: we just got married."

It was like they couldn't stop saying it, reassuring themselves that it had happened. "I like that reality."

"You know, we've been married for more than an hour and we haven't had sex yet."

"Oh no." Harry smiled and kissed Draco lightly on the lips. "I suppose we should do something about that."

When they returned to the garden a while later they were both smiling contentedly. Harry got a cup of pumpkin juice and stood near the fountain watching Draco mingle with everyone and generally do what he was good at. He was so at ease in these social situations that Harry was almost jealous of him. He'd only been there a few moments when Hermione joined him, scowling, knowing damn well what they had been up to in their absence.

"You never get enough, do you?"

"You really want me to answer that?" asked Harry.

"Don't you think you should have stayed out here?"

"I don't think they've even missed us."

"Draco's mother was looking for him."

"And she knew better than to actually come searching for him, so everything is fine."

Mrs. Weasley approached them then. She hadn't stopped smiling all day. "Oh I'm so happy for you, Harry dear. After all this time! I feel like it's my own son who's gotten married!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then glanced at Hermione. "I don't suppose anyone will tell me when my next child will be getting married?"

George had married the previous year and Percy the year before that, so all eyes were on Ron and Ginny. It was generally understood that Charlie would probably never marry. He enjoyed being a bachelor too much and made sure everyone knew it. Mrs. Weasley had given up on that effort long ago.

"Nobody's said anything to me about marriage," Hermione replied. "Though Ginny has been getting rather serious about the bloke she met at the World Cup last year."

"You know what I was asking."

"I know. But Ron hasn't asked me. Sorry."

Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry. "He would tell you if he was thinking about it."

Harry laughed awkwardly. "I have nothing to report."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it's only a matter of time, Hermione."

When she was gone Hermione sighed. "She's been on about weddings and grandchildren for a while now."

"And what do you think?"

"I think I'm going to ask Ron."

"Really?"

"Why not? I'm not getting any younger. And we all know how long it takes him to make a move. I've been considering it for some time now and I think I'll finally do it this month."

"I'm glad. You know, someday it will be our kids going to Hogwarts together just like we did."

"Let's get me married first. Then we can talk kids. Besides, you and Draco would have to have children too." Harry bit his lip nervously. "You're not… Are you going to adopt?"

"Nothing is official yet. We've been looking into it and there's a young witch in Ireland who's going to give birth next month. She can't keep the baby and as long as she approves of us…"

"You've got this all planned out and neither of you said anything?"

He shrugged. "We wanted to get the wedding over with first. Once Narcissa finds out she won't be able to think of anything else."

"Oh… my god. That's amazing, Harry," she gushed, giving him a big hug.

"You don't think it's too soon?"

"Who am I to say? It's your decision."

"You're passing up the chance for the first time in sixteen years to tell me what to do?"

She smiled and wrapped an arm around him. "You're not a child anymore, Harry. You don't need me to babysit you."

"But if I need you to babysit my kid…"

"I'll be here."

Draco interrupted. "It is time for me to dance with my husband."

"You know I can't dance."

"I'll lead. Just don't step on my feet."

"No promises."

The band started playing a special song that Draco spent weeks picking out and they held each other close, swaying slowly to the music.

"I still can't believe it," Harry whispered.

"You were telling Hermione about the baby, weren't you? She had that look that all women get when babies are mentioned."

"If anyone can keep a secret it's Hermione."

"Hm. You still told after we agreed not to. You're going to have to make it up to me."

Harry smirked. "Oh and what will I have to do to make amends for this terrible crime?"

"I'll think of something by the time we get home. I know that it will involve chocolate sauce, strawberries and… I'm thinking something from my Kama Sutra book."

Harry smiled and buried his head in Draco's neck, already enjoying married life.


End file.
